Brazil loses, says Mourão regarding Moro's retreat on Ilona's nomination.

247 - In an interview with the newspaper Valor, Vice President Hamilton Mourão described the removal of Ilona Szabó from the National Council for Criminal and Penitentiary Policy by Minister Sergio Moro as a "defeat for the country."

"I think Brazil loses. Brazil loses every time you can't sit at a table with people who disagree with you. Brazil loses. It's not figure A, B, or C. It's our country as a whole that loses, and we have to change that," said Mourão.

Ilona was disinvited by Moro after a conversation with President Jair Bolsonaro, who said he did not support the researcher's nomination to the Council. Bolsonaro supporters pressured for Ilona's removal due to her criticism of proposals such as gun ownership and the ministry's own package of measures, known as the Anti-Crime Bill.

Mourão downplayed the influence of Bolsonaro's sons in the social media campaign against Ilona's removal. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PSL-RJ) was one of those who fueled the campaign against the choice of Ilona Szabó. "My point of view is how can Ilona Szabó accept being part of the Bolsonaro government? It's sheer audacity coupled with a crazy desire to sabotage, it can only be that," he accused.

Mourão, however, attributed the crisis to what he calls the "radical wing" of the president's supporters and also to those who support Ilona.

"But it wasn't (the children's influence). In my view, there were attacks from both sides. From the more radical wing of the president's supporters, and there were attacks from the more radical wing that supports Ilona's views, who also said, 'You don't have to be there, you don't have to be with those people.'"

Asked if the withdrawal of Moro's nomination would represent a weakening of the minister in the government, Mourão said that the retreat is "part of politics." "That's politics, you can't impose your will, otherwise it becomes a dictatorship," he said.